Societe Brewing Top Local Brewery at San Diego Int’l Beer Fest

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SAN DIEGO, CAEach year, the San Diego County Fair conducts a professional brewing competition as part of the San Diego International Beer Festival. It is the largest annual competition of its kind in Southern California, drawing in hundreds of participating breweries from around the world. Earlier today, the results of this year’s competition were announced, and Kearny Mesa’s Societe Brewing Company earned the most medals of any of them, collecting two golds, a silver and a pair of bronzes for the following beers: 

  • Gold Medal: Societe The Harlot Belgian Blonde Ale, Hybrid Belgian-style Ale
  • Gold Medal: Societe The Baroness Helles Lager, European Lager
  • Silver Medal: Societe The Highwayman Brett-aged Pale Ale, Brett & Other Sour Beer
  • Bronze Medal: Societe The Swindler Barrel-aged Blonde Ale, Brett & Other Sour Beer
  • Bronze Medal: Societe The Coachman Session IPA, Session Beer

This was the first win for The Baroness Helles Lager and third win for The Harlot, which earned bronze medals at the SDIBF in 2017 and 2013. Meanwhile, Societe won two out of three medals in the “Brett and Other Sour Beer” category with its Brettanomyces (wild yeast) pale ale, The Highwayman, as well as its blended, red-wine-barrel-aged blonde ale, The Swindler. And a bronze was awarded to The Coachman, which is the reigning best “session IPA” (low-alcohol India pale ale) in the U.S. after taking gold for the second time in four years at the country’s largest and most prestigious brewing competition, the Great American Beer Festival. Find a Craft Brewery

Societe’s success puts the brewery in contention for the Best of Show award, which will be announced during the SDIBF. That event is open to the public and will take place from June 14-16 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Tickets may be purchased online ahead of time as well as in-person. Societe’s award-winning beers are available at the company’s tasting room, which is located at 8262 Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, San Diego, CA 92111.

ABOUT SOCIETE BREWING COMPANY: An independently owned-and-operated production brewery founded in 2012, Societe Brewing Company brews an array of hoppy “Out West” ales, Belgian-inspired and Germanic “Old World” ales and lagers, and dark “Stygian” beers. The brewery also features a 1,500-square-foot, temperature-controlled room housing used wine barrels filled with a maturing stock of barrel-aged and otherwise wild “Feral” ales. Proud to be part of the hotbed of brewing innovation that is San Diego, California, Societe exclusively distributes its beers to bars, restaurants and retailers throughout its home county. Some of its fan-favorite beers include The Pupil San Diego IPA, The Coachman Session IPA, The Heiress Czech Pilsner, The Harlot Belgian Blonde Ale, The Debutante Belgian Amber Ale and The Butcher Imperial Stout. For more information, visit the company’s official website—societebrewing.com—or follow Societe via social media on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@societebrewing).

Brandon Hernández is an award-winning San Diego-based beer and travel journalist who has authored a pair of guides to the county’s brewery-owned venues. He has covered the brewing industry for 16 years, contributing thousands of articles to newspapers, magazines, and online outlets, and spent nearly a decade working for craft breweries. He is currently the executive editor for San Diego Beer News, an on-air correspondent for FOX 5 San Diego, beer industry contributor for The San Diego Union-Tribune, and the food-and-beverage editor for luxury publication Ranch & Coast Magazine.